Roller bearing and method of making the same



July 1933- N. J. NOLAN ROLLER BEARING AND METHOD OF MAKING THE SAME Filed May 25, 1952 3mm Afzcilodas TIA 02am Patented Julyr25, 1933 p relaxer ,nnrnorr, .nrenienn, A CORPORATIONOF MICHIGAN ROLLER EARINGQAAID METHOD or meme THE SAME ap' sncaeon meazna' 2s, 1932. SeriaYNo. 13,044;

me, No. 1,824,787, issued September 29, 1931.

In the said prior patent the rolls are 're-' tained in spaced re'lation to each other by a cage which is formed "from an integral sheet metal blank. This cage is provided with a conical annular 1 portion having spaced apertures therein of a'width slightly less than the diameters of the, rolls and also provided with integral tongues extending upward from the small diameter end of said conical portion to extend between and bear against the innerfacesbf the rolls-'while outwardly extending portions at the ends of said tongues act as spacers for holding them in proper alignment; The construc-j tion is one which is simple and inexpensive to manufacture and which permits of easy assembly ofthe rolls with the cage. v

In the use of such cage and roll assembly it is placed between conical racem'embers, one of which is provided with an end thrust bearing for engaging the ends of the, rolls so as to hold them from displacement. It

. has been found, however, that where this end thrust bearing is in initialcontact with the ends of the rolls when the bearing is not under load, there is a tendency for the rolls to assume a skewed position where their axes are not properly aligned with the axis of the race members This interferes with the proper functioning of the bearingv and limits the'life thereof. It is therefore.

the object ofthe presentinvention to'overcome this defect and to this end the invention consists in the construction and method of forming the same as hereinafter set forth.

In the drawing:

Figure 1 is a sectional elevation of the roller bearing;

Figure 2 is a sectionsubstantially on line 2-2 of Figure 1; 7

Figure 3 is a diagram similar toa portionof Figure 1- showing in full and dotted lines the position of the rolls when first l assembled and when under load.

The cage A for the rolls is formed from an integral sheet metal blank and the rolls Bare assembled therewith as described inmy prior patent above" referred to. The parts are so proportioned that when the cage and rollassembly is placed in engagement with the conical race members C and D'the largeends of the rolls will be out of contact with the end thrust shoulder E on the race member D. the circumferential length of the cage is where the shoulderE contacts with the rolls; If, however, sufiicientend pressure isplaced on the cone D this will force the rolls radially outward, pres'singthe same against the hearings on the cage and expanding the latter until the rolls are permitted to contact with the send bearing E. The resiliency of the material from which the cage is formedis sufiicient to permit this expan'sionwithout exceeding the elastic limit and-thus when the bearing is fully asse1nbled there is a constant pressure of the bear ing edges of the cage against each roll sufiicient to hold it in alignment and to pre vent any tendency to skew. v

More in detail, the cage A has its conical portion F provided with spaced apertures G for receiving the rolls, the edges of these apertures being angled to be approximately tangent to the surface of the roll.

The tongues H are then bent up on the inner side of the rolls having an outwardl bent spacer portion H contacting with the portion F as described in my prior, patent. With the construction just described, when the cage and rolls are placed in engagement with the cone D they will be held with their large ends spaced from the shoulder E. To bring the ends of the rolls into contact with this shoulder it is necessary to move the rolls radially outward against the resistance of the portion F of the cage. However, as this cage is formed of resilient metal it will yield sufliciently to accomplish the purpose but in so doing will press the edge bearings G at oppositesides of the apertures G into contact with the This is dueto the fact that PAT NT; OFFICE;

NICHOLAS J. some,'oe'mmommcmem, ASSIGNOR TO ADVANCE SQTAMPINGTCOM-I 1 slightly less than would be required to pe1= mit the cone D to move inward to a point rollsand with sufficient pressure to insure proper alignment; Thus when the bearing is in operation under load the rolls A will she held by the cage in proper alignment where" their axes prolonged would in-' tersect with the axis of rotationof the bearing in a common point. As a Consequence the hearing will have a much longer life than where there is any skewing of the rolls. To effect the radial outward movementof the rollers and the expansion of the cage as above described, it is only necessary to asi semble the parts as shown in'Fig. 1 and to" then apply an endwise pressure on thecone D simultaneous to the revolution of the same about itsaxis.

the rolls B to travel upward on the cones C and D until the upper ends of-the rolls contact with the shoulder E, which will limit :furtlier axial movement thereof. Such upward movement on the cones will simnl taneously move the rolls radially outward which effects the expansion of the cage. L

hat I claim as my invention is: v a 1.; In a roller bearing, the combination ot a series of rolls having their axes converging to a common point, of a race member having a portion for receivingradial load from said rolls and a portion forming an end thrust bearing forthe rolls and afcage having bearings for engaging each of said rolls to align the same,i;said cage being so proportioned as to initially hold said rollsfout of contact with said end thrust bearing whereby the contacting of said end thrust bearing, with the rolls under load will place said aligning bearings under tension. i

2. In a roller bearing, the combination with aseries of rolls having tlieir'axes converging to a common point, of a race member for said rollshaving a portion for receiving radial load and a portion for re This will ,cause irollsst'rom misalignment.

ceiving end thrust fromthe rolls and a cage or retainer for the IOllS-COIHPIISlIlg a com- I cal annular member having spaced apertures therein of a width lessthan the diameter of the roll, said cage being so proportioned as to initially hold the rolls out of contact with said end thrust bearing and being resiliently yieldable to permit of contact under load and to simultaneously align the aices of the rolls. r

3. In a roller bearingfth'e combination witli a series of rolls having their axes connular bearing, for engaging the ends ofthe rolls, the said" parts beingso proportioned I I (hates-aid conicalbearing will contact all ofsaid rolls prior to the engagement of said annular bearing with the ends of the roll whereby movement of said rolls into contact with said annular bearing will place said aligning bearings under tension to hold the 1 a 4. The method of forming a roller bearing wliicligcoinsistsin mounting a series of rolls. in a surrounding cage having aligning bear:- iiigs for each roll, said cage being so propor-v tioned asto hold the rollsslightly radially inward from their working position, assem- 'bli ig the rolls I and cage with race n'iembers;

and in forcingtherolls radially outward by the pressure of the inner race member whereby said aligning bea rings for each roll will be placed under tension. I

NICHOLAS J. NOLAN. 

